Phil Spencer takes on Everest Challenge

12th February 2018, by Abi Butcher

Ski touring during the 2015 Everest in the Alps. Photo: Daniel Wildey

TV presenter Phil Spencer will later this month ski-tour the height of Everest up mountains around Verbier. The four-day challenge will help to raise funds for The Everest Centre, which leads research into paediatric low-grade tumours.

This is the second Everest in the Alps challenge, where the skiers will climb 8.848m over four days — the inaugural challenge in 2015 was a world first. In 2015, a team of 14 skiers undertook the climb and this year (starting 26 February) six teams will climb for around 32 hours, up to a total of 20 individual ascents — with only three hours of downhill.

The skiers will be climbing between 2000m and 2,500m each day, around eight hours’ ski touring per day, staying overnight in mountain huts and starting at 6:30am each morning. Their energy intake will the equivalent of running three back-to-back marathons.

The event was started by Rob Ritchie, whose nine-year-old son Toby has an inoperable low-grade brain tumour called a brain stem glioma. As well as Phil’s team there will be a group of seven mums from Twyford School, including Toby’s mum.